Should You Eat That Bacon- The New England Running Company 10-Miler Recap

Sorry I’ve been a little MIA this past week – I’ve been trying to sort out some of the formatting issues with the blog! If you’re reading this on a smartphone, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about (great!) and if you’re reading this on a computer, I’m sorry! I’m hoping to fix the background issues in the next week or so.

First, a quick recap of the marathon training this week –

So far, it’s not too intense. But I know that mileage is going to start ratcheting up soon, and I’m a little nervous for those 15-17 mile long runs. I’ve never run further than 13.1 miles right now, so it’s going to be unknown territory. BUT I don’t want to worry about that too much right now. 🙂

Yesterday, my mom and I completed our first ever ten-mile race – The New England Running Company 10 Miler! It was the first time this race had been put on, and apart from not having quite enough porta-potties (there were only five), it was really well done.

The weather could not have been more perfect either – it was in the low 70s and there was a breeze off the water. My mom and I hadn’t planned on running it too fast (we knew we were guaranteed PR’s since it was our first time running a 10 mile race!), but with the great conditions, we both found ourselves comfortable enough to run harder than expected.

The views of the ocean were spectacular, and I managed to snag a photo while running. Props to me for not dropping my phone!

The course was a little hilly, but nothing compared to the Heartbreak Hill Half, and there were so many beautiful views that you could almost forget how hard you were running. Almost… 10 miles later, I finished in 1:26:43, good for a fifth place finish in my age group! I was a little bummed I didn’t finish two places earlier so I could get a prize, but oh well. Also- no medals at this race, which was a little disappointing, but we did get nice Brooks technical running shirts. My mom came in two minutes later, so we both finished in under 1:30, which would have put us on pace for sub- 2 hour half marathons! Woo! It should be noted however, that my mom’s first words to me after crossing the finish were – “I blame you for making me run this fast.” We only ran the first mile together. Haha, so I’m not sure how I’m responsible, and if I am, I’m still waiting to hear, “Thank you Nora for encouraging me to push myself and test new boundaries.”🙂

After snacking on some delicious bagels, bananas, and chips, we decided to make the 10 minute drive over to nearby Salem to walk around and explore a little.

I hadn’t been to Salem in probably a couple of years and I forgot how beautiful it is! There were tons of cute shops to explore – many of which emphasized the witch/magic/history of the location, but others which had more cute jewelry and clothes to browse through – a perfect way to wrap up a race day! Around lunchtime, my mom and I shared a turkey, brie, and fig marmalade sandwich from a little cafe. I’m not normally a big fan of fig anything, but it was delicious in this!!

Walking around, I also discovered this fascinating flowchart that I think all bacon lovers (such as myself!) will appreciate –

Are you a coward? No? THEN EAT THE BACON! Haha, I love it. And now I wish there was bacon in my house…

We got a little lost trying to navigate our way back to our car, but found it after only a little aimless wandering. 🙂 A new race, a little shopping and some eating – overall, not a bad way to spend a Sunday! 🙂